Sophomore has been cleared to participate in more and more activities in practice every day while recovering from torn ACL, coach Mike Bobo says
Kelly Lyell, kellylyell@coloradoan.com

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CSU quarterback Collin Hill passes the ball as he warms up for a scrimmage during an open house hosted by the Rams outside of Canvas Stadium on Saturday, August 4, 2018. (Photo: Austin Humphreys/The Coloradoan)Buy Photo

Quarterback Collin Hill continues to make a speedy recovery from a second torn ACL and is now participating in full-team drills and working against a pass rush coach Mike Bobo said Wednesday.

“I think he looks good, (is) throwing the ball good, (is) maybe still a little hesitant in the pocket,'' Bobo said. "But there was a time today he had to step over and step up, and, we’re not hitting the quarterback, but I thought he’s moving well.

Hill beat out Nick Stevens to earn the starting job three games into the 2016 season as a true freshman and threw for 1,096 yards and eight touchdowns, with two interceptions, in five games. He tore the ACL in his left knee scrambling for a 19-yard gain on a second-and-20 play in an Oct. 8 win over Utah State.

That kept him out the remainder of the 2016 season, and he redshirted last fall to give the knee ample time to heal.

The 6-foot-5, 214-pound sophomore from Moore, South Carolina, was in line to be the Rams’ starting quarterback this fall but tore the ACL again in early March, just before the start of spring practices, while playing in a pickup basketball game. He had surgery a week later.

Although doctors say the usual recovery time for a college football player from a torn ACL is six to nine months, Hill has been on an aggressive rehab schedule that could have him cleared for full contact in time for the Rams’ Aug. 25 season opener against Hawaii.

K.J. Carta-Samuels, a graduate transfer from Washington, is expected to earn the starting job for the opening game.

Bobo said trainers tell him and quarterbacks coach Ronnie Letson each day what Hill can do, and the coaches work within those constraints.

““First it was pass rush, then it was (shot)gun, stuff from the ‘gun, and then today they said he could get a little bit under center, gave us a number of reps and that’s what we did,'' Bobo said.

“… I just kind of go by what they tell Coach Letson and I he can do, and that’s what we keep it at.”